Baltimore Orioles - TeamReport

April 20, 2013|Reuters

MLB Team Report - Baltimore Orioles - INSIDE PITCH

The Orioles' Steve Pearce took out three weeks of frustration on one elevated fastball Thursday night.

Pearce was 0-for-15 in 2013 after winning the final roster spot with a brilliant spring. He saved his first hit for a perfect time, driving a two-run homer to left-center field off Tampa Bay Rays' lefty Jake McGee.

The homer erased a 5-4 Rays' advantage and gave the Orioles a one-run lead. But it gave the club much more.

The Orioles' dugout was all smiles after Pearce's homer, and the 412-foot blast gave an injection of energy to Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

It also ended a brutal stretch for Orioles' designated hitters, who were 3-for-47 with one run batted in prior to the home run.

Pearce looked far more relaxed in his last at-bat Thursday, singling sharply to left field to start a ninth-inning rally.

THE GAME: Rainout

The first game of the Los Angeles Dodgers-Orioles series was postponed Friday because of rain and is going to be made up as part of a split doubleheader Saturday, with the first game starting at 1:05 p.m. and the second game beginning at 7:05 p.m.

This postponement won't affect the pitching match-ups; they'll remain the same. Jason Hammel starts the first game for Baltimore while Hyun-Jiu Ryu will be the Los Angeles pitcher.

This is the first time the Orioles and Dodgers have played since 2004 and just the third time they've met since interleague play began. Los Angeles has won five of the six games between the two.

The most famous meeting between the teams came when the Orioles scored a surprising sweep of the Dodgers in the 1966 World Series.

This series is also going to represent a bit of a reunion between the two managers. Orioles' manager Buck Showalter played with Dodgers' skipper Don Mattingly in the minors and managed him with the Yankees in the mid-1990s. They've known each other for more than 30 years.

Showalter told several stories about Mattingly on Thursday, and it was easy to see how much he admires his former first baseman.

"I knew I wasn't going to be the left fielder or first baseman for the New York Yankees when I saw him," Showalter said. "He was going to be."

Mattingly also spent some time talking about Showalter before Friday's rain-out, praising his former skipper for having the ability to see who could play the game.

"The view he had on talent was always good," Mattingly said. "He always knew who could play and who couldn't, and he knew how you were supposed to play."

The Orioles were set to use the same lineup Friday night that they went with in Thursday's 10-6 extra-inning win over the Rays since the Dodgers were starting left-hander Ryu. That lineup put left-handed hitting Nate McLouth on the bench, moved Nick Markakis to lead-off and had Steve Pearce as the designated hitter.

For the Dodgers, Carl Crawford (.375) was set to lead off at DH with his .375 average.

Adrian Gonzalez is off to hot start. He entered the weekend with a .407 average plus two homers and 12 RBIs.

--RHP Jason Hammel has gotten the loss in each of his last four appearances against Los Angeles. That includes three starts and a relief appearance.

--LHP Wei-Yin Chen is hoping to end a frustrating dry spell. Chen hasn't won a regular-season game since Aug. 19, 2012, a period of 10 straight starts. He's lost six straight games in that stretch although the left-hander did beat the New York Yankees in Game 2 of last year's ALDS.

--1B Chris Davis has been on a real roll since late in the 2012 season. Since Sept. 26, Davis has banged out 13 homers in his last 22 games and driven in 33 runs with a .355 batting average.

--RHP Jim Johnson has grown into one of baseball's best closers. Since Sept. 7, 2011, Johnson is tops in MLB with 64 saves.

--RF Nick Markakis has gotten hits in 13 of his 15 games this season. He's also fared very well at home, with multi-hit games in five of the six Oriole contests at Camden Yards.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "I knew I wasn't going to be the left fielder or first baseman for the New York Yankees when I saw him. He was going to be." -- Manager Buck Showalter on Don Mattingly.

-----------------------------------------------

MLB Team Report - Baltimore Orioles - ROSTER REPORT

MEDICAL WATCH:

--2B Brian Roberts (ruptured tendon, right knee) recently began some light jogging on an underwater treadmill in Sarasota, Fla., MASNsports.com reported. Roberts, who went on the disabled list April 5, is improving but isn't ready for baseball activities. He played in just 17 games last season due to injuries.